March 16, 2011 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

 Speaker:Ken Werner, Principal, Nutmeg Consultants

Title: AMOLED Displays: Current Developments and Reckless Predictions

Abstract:   The development of OLED displays has been a rocky road, with prediction after prediction running into delays and revisions. That’s typical for the development of new display technologies, but the huge promise of OLED coupled with the technology’s apparent simplicity made the delays particularly frustrating. Now, Samsung Mobile Display (SMD), the primary manufacturer of active-matrix OLEDs (AMOLEDs), can’t keep up with the demand, and both SMD and LG Display are planning to ramp up Gen 5.5 fabs in mid-2011. These are exciting times for AMOLED, and we can expect an array of new AMOLED-based products, but the melodrama is not over. As it turns out, although AMOLED technology appears simple, it isn’t. Great advances have been made on materials and device structure, resulting in vastly improved efficiency and lifetime, but the lifetime of blue emitters is still seriously deficient for many applications. Also, although the processes used for making both the OLED frontplanes and active-matrix backplanes are responsible for the technology’s current success, they are (at least in part) about to be pressed into use for the new, much larger fabs that will soon begin production – even though they have distinct limitations for even today’s generation. Process scalability is a critical issue if OLED displays are to be manufactured in larger sizes at a cost that allows them to be used in high-volume products. Therefore, it is not surprising that significant resources are being devoted to new processes that are suitable for fabs larger than Gen 5.5. In this overview, I will explore recent developments and current issues, and make some very specific (and perhaps slightly reckless) predictions about the immediate future. .

Speaker Background: Ken Werner is the founder and Principal of Nutmeg Consultants, and was the Editor of SID’s Information Display magazine from 1987 to 2005. Nutmeg Consultants works closely with Insight Media, and Mr. Werner serves as a Senior Analyst for Insight Media, which provides opportunity analysis for manufacturers, resellers and integrators of electronic displays and their components through consulting services, research reports, conferences, and newsletters. He is a founding editor and contributor for Insight Media’s Display Daily, and contributes regularly to Mobile Display Report, and Large Display Report. Mr. Werner has become recognized as an authority on the display industry. He regularly addresses technical and trade organizations in North America, Europe, and Asia, and is routinely consulted by brokers, analysts, members of the international press corps, and companies entering or repositioning themselves in the industry, or wishing consulting services on display technology, the display industry, or display and component sourcing. He speaks frequently with senior corporate and technology executives of large, mid-sized, and small display-related companies in Asia, Europe, and North and South America, as well as government officials and academic researchers. Mr. Werner began his career as a semiconductor device design engineer for RCA. He holds a B.A. in physics from Rutgers University and an M.S. in solid-state physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has taken graduate management courses at the University of Connecticut. He has been an active participant in the display industry since 1987. He is a member of SID and IEEE, and was Chairman of the Advisory Board for the award-winning IEEE Circuits & Devices magazine.